Ohio men’s basketball coach Tim O’Shea felt like he could relate to the NIU men’s basketball team’s 4-5 performance over Winter Break.

“They’re going through growing pains, just like us,” said O’Shea after NIU topped the Bobcats 74-71 Thursday in DeKalb.

The Huskies, who only have one senior in their lineup, won three of their first four contests over Winter Break. They also were crowned champions of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Flint Hills Islander Classic.

After the title, NIU lost three straight MAC games, falling by five points or less in two of the contests. The Huskies then topped Ohio and lost on the road Saturday to Central Michigan, finishing 1-4 against conference foes.

Central Michigan 72, NIU 63: NIU built up leads in the first and second half Saturday but allowed Central Michigan to come back, led by Kevin Nelson’s 27 points.

NIU 74, Ohio 71: The Huskies solidified what coach Rob Judson called a “much-needed win” with a three-pointer by Todd Peterson with 30 seconds remaining.

Peterson’s basket put NIU up 70-66 and freshman Zach Pancratz made all four of his free-throws to preserve the lead.

Bowling Green 78, NIU 67: Falcon seniors Josh Almanson and John Reimold each scored 21 points, leading Bowling Green to its ninth win in 10 games.

James Hughes led the Huskies with 18 points.

Miami-Ohio 64, NIU 59: Peterson, Mike McKinney, Cory Sims and Paige Paulsen all scored in double-digits in NIU’s second-straight close loss.

With 1:37 remaining, Miami’s William Hatcher made a three-point shot, giving the Red Hawks a 56-54 lead that Miami would hold on to for the win.

Western Michigan 72, NIU 69: After building a 64-57 lead with 6:48 remaining in the second half, the defending-MAC champion Broncos came back to win on a 12-3 run.

Texas A&M-CC Tournament: NIU junior Anthony Maestranzi averaged 17.5 points in wins over St. Bonaventure (71-62) and Texas A&M-CC (73-67), leading the Huskies to their first tournament title since the 1999-2000 season.

Maestranzi was honored as the tournament’s Most Valuable Performer and was joined by Peterson and McKinney on the All-Tournament Team.

Peterson had 19 points in the title game, and McKinney averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the tournament.

Kansas State 81, NIU 66: Jeremiah Massey’s career-high 32 points lifted the then-undefeated Wildcats to their eighth-straight victory.

Johnathan Byrd led the Huskies with 14 points.

NIU 76, Eastern Illinois 60: To begin the break, the Huskies’ Peterson scored a career-high 20 points, making 8-of-11 shots in NIU’s largest margin of victory this season.